I am grateful I got to spend one more day at my old school with my wonderful kiddos and fabulous co-Mentor; plus, it happened to be my co-Mentor's Bday!!! I will miss them all! I am grateful to feel so loved, valued, and appreciated by my students, their parents, and my co-workers. Thank you all for the past 20 months!I am grateful to be so many steps closer to obtaining my Chinese Visa! I am feeling positive about receiving the work permit online by Monday! It's usually a 5-day process, but my school liaison (in China) plans to go in Monday and ask if they can rush it, in consideration of Lunar New Year holidays that follow for two weeks!I am grateful that all my work with our kiddos at school has paid off; I have spent the last year-and-a-half coaching them in breathe awareness, sitting peacefully while mindfully breathing, affirmations, gratitude, intention setting! The replacement teacher was WOW-ed that they could sit still and quiet for so long, breathing with their eyes closed! Keep in mind, these are 5-6 y.o.'s that can now sit for 20+ breaths... longer than many adults can sit still! We started at one breath and just sitting still for 2 seconds!!! I am amazed at my kiddos and grateful that they are learning this much-needed tool at such a young age! Yay!I am grateful for all my friends and family who are trying to spend time with me before I leave! It is so hard to fit it all in... I haven't had time to pack, sell, or donate anything yet because all this visa paperwork takes up my days and nights... no joke! But so worth it! I am grateful that I made so many wonderful friends while I was at Integrity Academy in Austin. I just LOVE that I have true and lasting friendships-- friends in Austin, friends in Belgium... friends who are already asking about my vacation time so they can come visit China! LOLI am so so so so so so so so so grateful for this amazing IB teaching opportunity in China! CHINA!! CHINA!! A dream come true! I am further amazed at my lack of knowledge and naivety when it comes to the progress that China has made, and once again, the discovery of ANOTHER country that is has surpassed the US in so many areas (like KOREA!!) . And I get to live there!!!! WhooHoo! I am so grateful that I have already made friends and connections in China! Through both my FB teaching alumni page and the Chinese expat pages, and then referrals to other contacts, I have learned so much about my new city and all it has to offer...and most importantly, how friendly and welcoming the people of China are! Yay! Plus, friends! I've already made 3 friends in Chengdu!!! Whoo Hoo! I have a hiking and workout buddy who teaches at my school, a business owner-pal who's Chengdu old-skool expat (been there for years and years), another teacher friend at school, and various other contacts and acquaintances from Chengdu and Shanghai!!I am so grateful for a few minutes today to stop and be grateful! The visa paperwork process is overwhelming, the time flying by when I don't seem to have done anything to prepare my own household to move is daunting, the time needed to meet all my friends and family and travel to SA and FTW to see everyone before I go, along with numerous lunches, dinners, farewells is a lot... and I am grateful for it all! I love you people...here... and there!